On: First water plume seen firing from Jupiter moon Europa

[GrantS]

For those expecting to see an actual image, this is the closest thing to a photo from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/water-vapor-over-europa/

They note: "Hubble didn't photograph plumes, but spectroscopically detected auroral emissions from oxygen and hydrogen."

Full press release from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-europa-water-vapo...

For an amazing photo of Europa with Io's volcanic plumes in view, see this older photo from 2007: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA10103.jpg

Full description here: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10103

[dmead → GrantS]

does this mean it's pure conjecture that it was a water plume? my idea of a water plume would say that it's sub surface ocean water getting ejected out of the surface. this evidence seems like it could have been water knocked up by a meteor impact or some other mechanism to get the surface ice into orbit.

[tokipin → dmead]

it's my understanding that the gravitational "torsion" from Jupiter alone is enough to do all sorts of things (like keep a planet thermally active)